Objective: This study examines whether nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) improve or hinder work-life balance (WLB) for parents and non-parents in dual-earner households. Background: Previous research shows that NSWS can negatively affect workers' well-being. However, less is known about whether and to what extent these effects differ between parents and childless individuals. Method: Using data from the first wave of the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA), linear regression models are applied to assess whether the effect of NSWS on WLB is influenced by family circumstances. Results: Parenthood is generally associated with lower WLB. However, the negative association between NSWS and WLB is more pronounced among childless workers. Notably, mothers of young children (ages 0-5), as well as fathers of school-aged children (ages 6-12) working NSWS report higher WLB than their childless counterparts. Conclusion: Parents with NSWS in dual-earner households do not necessarily experience lower WLB than childless workers. In some cases, NSWS may even help parents better reconcile work and family responsibilities.

STUDY AIMS:Using a cross-country lens, we investigate the links between longitudinal work trajectories and health among parents with children under age 18. BACKGROUND:Employment serves as a valuable resource, affording us a decent standard of living. The rising dominance of digital and technology, together with the service economy since the 1980s, has transformed the utility of employment from a resource to a vulnerability, subjecting more families to uncertain, unstable, and insecure work. Nonstandard work schedules or shiftwork, which often fall outside regular 9-to-5 daytime hours and can be unpredictable, carry potential health consequences. METHODS:Using the longitudinal data from Australia (HILDA), Germany (SOEP), the UK (UKHLS), and the US (NLSY79), we used sequence analysis to first chart parental work schedule patterns between three stages of the life course, 25-34, 35-44, and 45-54, to show the changes and transitions in work patterns. We then conducted multivariate regression analysis to examine how variations in parental work patterns may shape individual health (i.e., physical and mental health) at ages 35/40, 45/50, and 55/60 while controlling for a rich set of sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS:Our sequence analyses uncovered roughly 4-6 work patterns during those three periods, revealing the heterogeneities of parental work trajectories that might correspond to childrearing demands and their sociodemographic backgrounds. We also found that mainly not-working pattern or volatile work arrangements (e.g., switching between daytime and non-daytime hours) were associated with significantly poorer physical and mental health; however, the persistence and magnitude of these associations varied by country. CONCLUSIONS:This study advances our understanding of the critical role of employment in our health from a cross-country perspective and bears important implications for the intergenerational transmission of employment and health vulnerabilities.

One reason gender earning gaps persist is that well-paid jobs presume long work hours, and these are incompatible with family care. Long hours also harm health, and the risks may increase for workers with care and domestic workloads, adding a gendered health penalty. Using representative, longitudinal data from Australia and Germany (144,430–153,659 observations for HILDA and SOEP surveys, respectively, 2002–2022), we model the interconnections between hours and health among men and women aged 25–64 years. Our models include hours spent on care and domestic work, to estimate the points at which working more gains earnings but incurs risks for health and how this may differ by gender. The results show that average health ceilings mirror standard work hours (38 to 43 h per week) in both countries, but this masks wide gender differences. Gender stratified models reveal that long work hours are relatively less harmful for men compared to women, and as work hours lengthen, the penalty to women’s physical and mental health increases. We further show how these differential health harms are linked to extra time spent on family care and domestic work. Our study extends theory on how gender inequality is maintained in organisations and in the labour market, and the need for policy action to limit long work hours.

Nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) among mothers have been linked to negative outcomes in children, yet less research studies have examined the mechanisms underlying this association. To date no research has explored the mechanisms that directly influence children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. Using data from the UK-based Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), we examine the relationship between maternal work schedules and children’s social-emotional development from ages three to seven, focusing on three potential mediators: the stability of children’s daily routines, the types of their daily activities, and maternal depression. We find that maternal NSWS is associated with increased social-emotional difficulties in children, particularly when mothers work at night. Among the three mechanisms, maternal depression emerges as the most significant mediator, followed by regular bedtime routines. These findings suggest that while daily routines and activities are important for child development, a substantial portion of the impact of maternal NSWS is mediated through maternal psychological well-being. Effective interventions to support children’s social-emotional development should consider the mental health and well-being of mothers working nonstandard hours.

Despite growing evidence that parental work-family conflict (WFC) affects children's emotional well-being, little is known about the multiple pathways underlying such effects. This study examines the association between parental WFC and children's emotional well-being and the potential mediating role of parenting behaviors in this process. Using the German Family Panel data from wave 6 (2013/2014), wave 8 (2015/2016), wave 10 (2017/2018), and wave 12 (2019/20), we use random-effects and multiple mediation models to analyze how parental WFC influences parenting behaviors and children's emotional well-being, and whether parenting behaviors mediate their association. Parental WFC is linked to more negative communication and conflict and less parental warmth, especially among mothers. Parental WFC is linked to children's emotional well-being, with a more pronounced association for mothers' WFC. Mediation analyses showed that parenting behaviors partially mediate this association. Our results underscore the importance of reducing WFC among working parents to promote children's emotional well-being.

International Journal of Social WelfareVolume 32, Issue 3 p. 273-277 EDITORIAL Special Issue on the Challenges for family and child well-being in the new era Jianghong Li, Jianghong Li The WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany Adjunct Associate Professor, Curtin University and Honorary Research Associate Telethon KIDS Institute, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorAnna Rönkä, Anna Rönkä Faculty of Education, University of Jyväskylä, FinlandSearch for more papers by this authorWen-Jui Han, Corresponding Author Wen-Jui Han [email protected] Silver School of Social Work, New York University, USA Correspondence Wen-Jui Han, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Jianghong Li, Jianghong Li The WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany Adjunct Associate Professor, Curtin University and Honorary Research Associate Telethon KIDS Institute, AustraliaSearch for more papers by this authorAnna Rönkä, Anna Rönkä Faculty of Education, University of Jyväskylä, FinlandSearch for more papers by this authorWen-Jui Han, Corresponding Author Wen-Jui Han [email protected] Silver School of Social Work, New York University, USA Correspondence Wen-Jui Han, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, USA. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 24 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12620Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL REFERENCES Aderman, L. (2020, August 14). In Europe, millions of jobless are falling through the cracks. The New York Times. Access at. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/business/europe-precarious-workers.html Casas, F., & Frønes, I. (2020). From snapshots to complex continuity: Making sense of the multifaceted concept of child well-being. Childhood, 27(2), 188– 202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568219895809 Christner, N., Essler, S., Hazzam, A., & Paulus, M. (2021). Children's psychological well-being and problem behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online study during the lockdown period in Germany. PLoS One, 16(6), e0253473. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253473 Gadermann, A., Thomson, K. C., Richardson, C. G., Gagné, M., McAuliffe, C., Hirani, S., & Jenkins, E. (2021). Examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family mental health in Canada: Findings from a national cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 11, e042871. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042871 Harknett, K., & Schneider, D. (2020, February 12). Precarious work schedules and population health. Health Affairs, Health Policy Brief. https://doi.org/10.1377/hpb20200206.806111 Henly, J. R., & Lambert, S. J. (2014). Unpredictable work timing in retail jobs: Implications for employee work–life conflict. ILR Review, 67(3), 986– 1016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793914537458 Kalil, A., Mayer, S., & Shah, R. (2020). Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on family dynamics in economically vulnerable households. Becker Friedman Institute Working Paper No. 2020-143. Available at https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/BFI_WP_2020143.pdf Kalleberg, A. L. (2013). Good jobs, bad jobs: The rise of polarized and precarious employment systems in the United States, 1970s to 2000s. Russell Sage Foundation. Kalleberg, A. L. (2018). Precarious lives: Job insecurity and well-being in rich democracies. Polity Press. Patrick, S. W., Henkhaus, L.E., Zickafoose, J.S., Lovell, K., Halvorson, A., Loch, S., Letterie, M., & Davis, M. M. (2020). Well-being of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey. Pediatrics, 146(4). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-016824, e2020016824 Pilkington, E., & Rao, A. (2020, April 10). A tale of two New Yorks: Pandemic lays bare a city's shocking inequities. The Guardian. Access at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/10/new-york-coronavirus-inequality-divide-two-cities. Pocock, B., & Clarke, J. (2005). Time, money and job spillover: how parents' jobs affect young people. The Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(1), 62– 76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-9296.2005.00158.x Rönkä, A., Malinen, K., Metsäpelto, R-L., Laakso, M-L., Sevón, E. & Verhoef-van Dorp, M. (2017). Parental working time patterns and children's socioemotional well-being: Comparing working parents in Finland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Children and Youth Services Review, 76, 133– 141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.02.036 Strazdins, L., Baxter, J. A., & Li, J. (2017). Long hours and longings: Australian children's views of fathers' work and family time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79(4), 965– 982. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12400 Tammelin, M., Mykkänen, J., Sevón, E., Murtorinne-Lahtinen, M., & Rönkä, A. (2019). Family time negotiations in the context of nonstandard work schedules. Families, Relationships and Societies, 8(1), 121– 136. https://doi.org/10.1332/204674317X15034163282768 Volume32, Issue3Special Issue: Challenges for Family and Child well‐being in the New EraJuly 2023Pages 273-277 ReferencesRelatedInformation

This study assessed the relationship between maternal working hours and stunting, underweight and obesity in children under age 5 in China, using data from the China Nutrition and Health Survey (CNHS) conducted in 2002 and multivariable logistic regression. We found that maternal work hours 25-40 or >40 h per week were associated with a higher risk for underweight and stunting (under growth) in children under age 5. The association between working 25-40 h per week and stunting was somewhat stronger for children from low-income families and the effect of working >40 h per week on underweight was larger among children from mothers with lower education, although with marginal significance (90% confidence). In contrast, we found that long maternal work hours (>40 h per week) were associated with a lower risk for overweight and obesity in children under age 5. This association was stronger among children from mothers with lower education.

Objective: We investigated the association between joint parents' work schedules and parent-reported adolescent mental health and test parental time for adolescents and parenting style as mediators. Background: Increasing evidence shows that parents' evening/night/irregular work schedules have a negative impact on children's physical and mental health. Few studies examine adolescents and joint parental work schedules.Method: We analysed one wave of the Australian Raine Study data, focusing on adolescents who were followed up at ages 16-17 and lived in dual earner-households (N=607). Adolescent mental health was measured in the Child Behavioural Checklist (morbidity, internalising behaviour, externalising behaviour, anxiety/depression). Parental work schedules were defined as: both parents work standard daytime schedules (reference), both parents work evening/night/irregular shifts; fathers work evening/night/irregular shifts - mothers day schedules, mothers work evening/night/irregular shifts - fathers daytime schedules. We estimated a linear regression model with robust standard errors and log transformation of the dependent variables.Results: Compared to the reference group, when one or both parents worked evening/night/irregular schedules, there was a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity, externalizing behaviour and anxiety/depression in adolescents. Fathers' only evening/night/irregular schedules was associated with a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity and externalizing behaviour. Inconsistent parenting partially mediated this association. Mothers' only evening/night/irregular schedules was not significantly associated with parent-reported adolescent mental health. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the importance of fathers' work-family balance with implications for adolescent mental health.

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that national cultural traits, such as collectivism–individualism and tightness–looseness, are associated with COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. However, although East Asian countries have outperformed other countries in containing COVID-19 infections and lowering mortality in the first pandemic waves, no studies to date have examined flexibility-monumentalism, a cultural trait that uniquely distinguishes East Asia from the rest of the world. Moreover, none of the previous studies have explored mechanisms underpinning the association between national culture and COVID-19 mortality.AimsOur study fills in these gaps by examining the association between flexibility-monumentalism and COVID-19 mortality, adjusting for important covariates and by analyzing mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 during the first weeks of the pandemic as plausible mechanisms underpinning this association.MethodsWe constructed and analyzed a dataset including 37 countries that have valid information on flexibility-monumentalism, COVID-19 deaths as of 31 October 2020 (before the start of vaccination campaigns), and relevant covariates including two other national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness) and other national characteristics (economic, political, demographic and health). Multiple linear regression with heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors was used to assess the independent effect of flexibility-monumentalism on COVID-19 mortality. Mediation was assessed by examining the indirect effects of flexibility through mask wearing and fear of COVID-19 and determining the statistical significance through bootstrapping. Graphical and delete-one analysis was used to assess the robustness of the results.ResultsWe found that flexibility was associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 mortality as of 31 October 2020, independent of level of democracy, per capita GDP, urbanization, population density, supply of hospital beds, and median age of the population. This association with mortality is stronger and more robust than for two other prominent national cultural traits (individualism–collectivism and tightness–looseness). We also found tentative evidence that the effect of flexibility on COVID-19 mortality may be partially mediated through mask wearing in the first weeks of the pandemic.

Considering gender inequality in time as a resource for political participation and using Wave 5 of the European Social Survey data on 24 European countries, this study examines: (1) the relationship of both long working hours and unsociable work schedules to participation in national elections in Europe before or during 2010; (2) factors that may mediate this association; and (3) gender differences in this relationship and occupation-specific patterns. The findings show that both working more than 45 hours per week and working evenings, nights or weekends are associated with lower national electoral participation in women with both high and low occupational status. Among men with the lowest occupational status, working long hours is also linked to lower participation. These findings are robust against controlling for important confounders. Political interest seems to partially mediate the negative effect of unsociable work schedules on voting in women. Neither health nor social engagement plays a mediation role.

Objective: This study examines gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parental psychological wellbeing (parenting stress and psychological distress) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Background: The dramatic shift of childcare and schooling responsibility from formal institutions to private households during the pandemic has put families under enormous stress and raised concerns about caregivers' health and wellbeing. Despite the overwhelming media attention to families’ wellbeing, to date limited research has examined parenting stress and parental psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Germany. Method: We analyzed four waves of panel data (N= 1,771) from an opt-in online survey, which was conducted between March 2020 and April 2021. Multivariable OLS regressions were used to estimate variations in the pandemic's effects on parenting stress and psychological distress by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Overall, levels of parenting stress and psychological distress increased during the pandemic. During the first and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers, parents with children younger than 11 years, parents with two or more children, parents working from home as well as parents with financial insecurity experienced higher parenting stress than other sociodemographic groups. Moreover, women, respondents with lower incomes, single parents, and parents with younger children experienced higher levels of psychological distress than other groups. Conclusion: Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parents' psychological wellbeing increased among the study participants during the pandemic.

Background: Obesity rates have been rising steeply across the globe in recent decades, posing a major threat to global human health. Despite this almost universal increase, differences between countries remain striking, even among equally developed societies. Methods: We test if two cultural dimensions derived from a revised Hofstede model of culture from Minkov (2018), namely collectivism vs. individualism and monumentalism vs. flexibility, could help explain national variations in prevalence of obesity (BMI >= 30) among women and men around the world. We develop a theoretical framework that links these two cultural dimensions with obesity and then test their association empirically in analyses including 51 countries from all regions of the world as well as using imputed data for a total of 155 countries, representing 98% of the global population. Results: In contrast to previous studies, we find that, adjusting for undernourishment and other potential confounds, individualism is associated with higher obesity prevalence in the male population, but not among the female population. We explain these findings by pointing to the different mechanisms through which individualism relates to health behavior, some of which are more gender-specific than others. A further novel finding is that flexibility, a national cultural trait that emphases humility, self-control, and restraint of desires, is a strong negative predictor of obesity in both genders beyond various potential confounds and is highly robust in specification curve analyses. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that taking national culture into account can enhance our understanding of the obesity pandemic and should thus be considered by policy-makers in their design of interventions.

Data from the European Working Conditions Surveys from 2005, 2010, and 2015 for 29 European countries show that the prevalence of nonstandard work schedules (evenings, nights, weekends, and rotating shifts) differs markedly across European regions with different public policies. Working nonstandard schedules also differs by education, gender, and parental status across Europe.

Data from the ‘European Working Conditions Survey’ from 2005 to 2015 for 29 European countries show that the incidence of nonstandard work schedules (evenings, nights, weekends, rotating, shifts) differs remarkably across European regions with different public policies. Working nonstandard schedules differs by education, gender and parental status across Europe.

Many children live in households where either one or both parents work nonstandard schedules in the evening, night or weekend. Using a mixed methods design, this study examined whether nonstandard work schedules were linked to lower social and emotional wellbeing in children. The quantitative analysis based on the German Family Panel Study (pairfam) showed that children whose parents worked rotating shifts and other types of nonstandard schedules reported elevated levels of emotional and conduct problems. However, not all types of nonstandard schedules were detrimental to child wellbeing: fixed shift work did not have a negative impact on child social and emotional wellbeing. Overall, the effect of mothers’ work schedule on child wellbeing was stronger than that of fathers. The qualitative interviews revealed that nonstandard work schedules made everyday life unsettling and family environment chaotic because it was difficult to plan. Thus, for most families where one or both parents worked such schedules stress was a defining feature of the daily life and parents accepted it as “part of their life”. Families used different strategies to deal with stress and attempted to protect children from it. Contingent on what resources available to them, some families managed well, while others did not cope so well and children were adversely affected.

The "new economy" is characterized by increasing levels of nonstandard employment. A significant proportion of employees work very long hours, work with high intensity, or have long commutes to work. Also, many workers struggle to secure adequate, stable employment or good quality jobs, and work evening and night shifts or work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. This special issue examines the consequences of the new economy for the wellbeing of family and children. The studies included in this special issue address the impact of parents’ nonstandard work schedules (shift work), long work hours, temporary employment, and long commutes to work on parental and child health and wellbeing, relationship satisfaction, work-family balance, and the division of labour.

Using three waves of the European Working Conditions Survey (2005-2015), we examined parental work schedules and hours across welfare regimes covering 29 European countries with attention to gender and socioeconomic gaps (N = 20,648). Multivariate logistic regression results revealed that: (1) nonstandard work schedules and overworking were more prevalent in the Liberal, Southern European, and Central-Eastern European regimes than were in the Corporatist and Social Democratic welfare regimes, whereas underworking was the highest in the Liberal and Corporatist regimes; (2) fathers were more likely to work nonstandard schedules and overwork but less likely to underwork than were mothers, with the strongest gender gaps observed for the Liberal regime; (3) highly-educated parents were less likely to work nonstandard schedules and overwork but more likely to underwork, and this was more pronounced in the Southern European and Central-Eastern European welfare regimes; (4) compared to 2005, nonstandard work schedules were more prevalent in 2015, and both overworking and underworking were less prevalent in 2010; these trends varied across welfare regimes.